A Phoenix homeowner who held weekly Bible studies
in his backyard must serve jail time for failing to comply with building,
zoning, fire, and safety codes applicable to churches, ruled
a federal district court in Arizona last week.

In 2008, the City of Phoenix ordered Michael
Salman to comply with code requirements for a church after neighbors complained
about his weekly Bible studies, which often drew
50 people to a gazebo in his backyard. Salman refused, claiming the order
violated his free exercise rights, and was sentenced to 60 days in jail, fined
$12,000, and given three year's probation--during which he could not host more
than 12 people in his home, reports
Religion Clause.

This is not the first time home Bible studies
have been cited or barred in the recent past.

In 2011, the California city of San Juan
Capistrano fined Chuck Fromm, former president of Maranatha! Music and
co-founder and editor of Worship Leader magazine, for holding
Bible studies in his family home without a permit. Fromm and his wife
Stephanie filed a lawsuit but
later dropped it after the city agreed to reimburse the couple and
re-examine its permit rules for religious meetings in residential areas.

In April 2009, San Diego county officials issued
a warning to David and Mary Jones for hosting a weekly Bible study in their
home without a permit for religious assembly; the county rescinded the warning
in June of that year. In November of that year, Joe Sutherland of Gilbert,
Arizona, was given a cease-and-desist order for church meetings in his home
because it violated the city’s zoning code. The city council revised the code
the following March to allow the meetings.